February 7, 2020 A Message from the Head of School I am pleased to announce that Kristen Santerian '08 Vice President, Chief of Staff, Global Head of ETF and Index Investments for the financial planning and investment management firm, BlackRock, has accepted our invitation to give the Academy's Commencement address on Saturday, May 30. Before joining BlackRock, Ms. Santerian co-founded PennMoveOut, a consumer logistics company based in Philadelphia. Her experience also includes service as a contributing writer and research analyst with Forbes, Inc., where she worked on the Forbes Special Situation Survey and contributed to the publication of The Forbes/CFA Institute Investment Course. Ms. Santerian has also held summer analyst positions at Cross Atlantic Partners, an early to mid-state technology venture capital firm, and Time, Inc.
Ms. Santerian lives Notre Dame's Mission and Hallmarks through community service in the Philadelphia area and by serving on Notre Dame's Advisory Council, New York Chapter. She is a Virtual Committee Chair for the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Interview Program and an Executive Board Member of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief.
Ms. Santerian earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently resides in New York City.
We look forward to welcoming Kristen Santerian home to Notre Dame to celebrate the graduating Class of 2020.
Judith A. Dwyer, Ph.D. Head of School
The Academy of Notre Dame de Namur extends its sincere sympathy to Mia Vitanzo '22 on the death of her father, Dr. Peter C. Vitanzo, Jr.
Funeral arrangements will be shared as soon as they are finalized.
Thank you for keeping Mia and the Vitanzo family in your thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Judith A. Dwyer, Ph.D. Head of School
Health Message from the Academy In the January 24 issue of ND Weekly, our Certified School Nurse Mrs. Marianne Gonzaga shared practical, commonsense tips to help prevent the spread of colds and flu-like viruses. While there is public concern regarding the coronavirus, PA health officials reported earlier this week that no cases of coronavirus have occurred in Pennsylvania and the threat to Pennsylvanians remains low. Please know that the health and safety of our students and our ND community is our highest priority and we are closely monitoring advisories from the PA Department of Health and national health agencies. Please continue to follow recommended precautions for avoiding colds and the flu.
Announcements Important Dates - Parent Teacher Conferences Friday, February 7 at 3:00 pm: The portal to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences opens today. The scheduling portal can be accessed at https://ndapa.ptcwizard.com/parent/.
For parents who have not registered for conferences this year, please use your email address for the username and fall2019 for the password.
Friday, February 14 at 8:00 am - 1:00 pm: Parent Teacher Conferences
Mrs. Kim Burke, Director of Upper School, kburke@ndapa.org Mrs. Bridget Bonner, Director of Middle School, bbonner@ndapa.org
Notre Dame Recognizes Student Excellence The Academy congratulates our students who have achieved Distinguished Honor Roll or Honor Roll for the first semester. Keep up the great work! Closing Gifts Needed: Under $1M to Reach Inspire Campaign Goal! Many thanks to those families who have helped the Academy reach this important milestone! With $14.1M raised to date, we need just $900,000 to meet our budgeted goal and successfully conclude OUR TIME to INSPIRE campaign. Your gift or pledge is needed to help us reach this goal! No matter the amount, every commitment is critical to helping us finish this historic campaign which has enhanced our campus for every student. Pledges can be spread over the next four years and payments can be made via check, credit card or stock. Click here for a pledge form or click here to make your gift today. Inspire donations are tax-deductible.
THANK YOU!
Visit the Shamrock Shop During Conferences The Shamrock Shop will be open on February 14 from 8:30 am until 1:00 pm.
Stop by and check out the latest ND merchandise or visit our online store:
Regular Store Hours:
Register Now for ND's Middle and Upper School Rowers of all abilities are welcome to participate in ND's summer rowing camps at the Hines Rowing Center in Conshohocken.
Middle School August 3-August 13 (2 weeks)
Notre Dame's middle school rowing camp is open to any middle school rowers, including incoming sixth graders who are interested in the sport. Middle school rowers will learn the basics of the sport of rowing including technique, training and teamwork. No prior rowing experience is required.
Upper School June 8-July 30 (8 weeks)
Notre Dame's upper school summer rowing camp is open to any high school rowers, including incoming ninth graders interested in joining the team. The focus of the summer rowing program will be to provide student athletes with additional training and practice in a variety of different boat classes. We will compete in a limited number of local regattas and athletes will have an opportunity to race in multiple different events.
Only a Limited Number of Tickets Remain for Frozen, Jr.
Frozen, Jr. is almost sold out! Don't be disappointed, order your tickets today!
Meet the Characters of Frozen, Jr. and Stay for Olaf's Ice Cream Party! NEW! Notre Dame families and their guests are cordially invited to join us on Saturday, February 22, in the Mansion for our Frozen Jr. Character Meet & Greet followed by Olaf's Ice Cream Party!
Please RSVP here! There is no charge for this event.
Art Show Continues Through Sunday If you have not had the opportunity to visit ND's 47th Annual Fine Art Show and Sale in the Mansion, there is still time! The Show remains open daily from noon until 4:00 pm through Sunday. There is no admission fee. Around Campus Scholastic Writing Award Winners Announced Thirteen seniors were recognized for their impressive achievements in creative and academic writing in the 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This was the most competitive year in the organization's history, and it marks the most Scholastic writing titles earned in one year for the Academy of Notre Dame.
Gold Key Winners (photo above, left to right) Margaret Arfaa (two awards, for short story and personal essay), Emily Shank (poetry), Kaitlyn Moshang (poetry), and Lindsay Goldschmidt (short story). These students are now in the running for a national medal recognizing their work (announced in March).
Silver Key and Honorable Mention Winners (photo below, front to back) Eva Kraus (poetry), Emmeline Lignowski (critical essay), Sofia Quagliariello (critical essay), Abigail Ryan (poetry), Grace Rivers (personal essay), Cecilia Quirk (critical essay), Katie Mowatt (fiction), and Shenglin Xu (personal essay). Not pictured: Katie Meguerian (critical essay). You can read more about the awards here, or view a complete list of the regional honorees. In 2019, the Philadelphia Writing Project drew nearly 1200 submissions from the five counties it represents (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia).
Warm congratulations to all of our winners from the Religion Department (for which most of these works were written) and the English Department.
Dance Company to Perform in Inter-Ac Dance Festival - Tuesday, February 11 On Tuesday February 11 at 7:00 pm the Upper School Dance Company will participate in the 3rd Annual Inter-Ac Dance Festival at Episcopal Academy. The dancers will perform three pieces in the evening program. This performance is open to the public. Come out and support our Dance Company members.
ND Hosts Final Hi-Q Competition There were only winners at the close of ND's last Hi-Q meet of the season on Tuesday. Teams from Strath Haven and Archbishop Carroll joined ND's valiant players on Cuvilly stage for a rousing and challenging competition. Strath Haven claimed the victory, while Carroll and ND tied for second place.
Spanish Classes Tour Art Show On Wednesday, students in Mrs. Clare Ziff's Spanish classes had the opportunity to tour ND's Fine Art Show and Sale. After touring the galleries, students selected a work of art, photographed it, and prepared a description of the work in Spanish which they will record.
Basketball Captains Recognized for Excellence On January 29, ND's four senior captains Allie Lynch, Riley Gillin, Mikayla Dever and Nora Livingood were honored with the Basketball Excellence Award by the Markward Club. The Club honored some of the best of Philadelphia boys' and girls' basketball this season. The Varsity team is 16-7, led by all four senior captains. The team earned the third- seed and a first-round bye in the PAISAA Tournament and will play the winner of Shipley v. The George School next week.
ND Field Hockey Players Named to National Academic Squad 13 ND athletes have been named to the 2019 Keith Waldman — OPA/NFHCA High School National Academic Squad. The High School National Academic Squad program recognizes high school senior and junior field hockey players who have achieved a minimum cumulative, unweighted grade-point average of 3.50 out of 4.0, or the equivalent, through the first quarter of the 2019-20 school year.
Congratulations to Sophia Amos '20, Hanna Bodner '21, Samantha Coneys '20, Abigail D'Anjolell '21, Georgeanne Gorelick '20, Paige Kieft '21, Catherine Leary '21, Lauren Liebezeit '21, Meghan Mitchell '20, Brianna Odgers '20, Aidan Quintiliani '21, Vivienne Trumpbour '20, and Sydney Worrell '21. You may read more about the award here.
Students Volunteer at St. Francis Inn Last week, students in the senior and junior classes served dinner after school at St. Francis Inn, located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. The students served as waitresses at St. Francis, where every person is treated as a guest, not just a person to feed. They reflected on the variety of people they encountered and enjoyed serving in the dining room!
School Calendar
February 7
February 8
February 9
February 11
February 12
February 14
February 17 Presidents Day (School Closed)
February 19
February 20
February 21 Moms in Prayer Frozen, Jr., Middle School Musical
February 22 Frozen, Jr., Middle School Musical
February 26
February 27 February 28
March
March 2
March 3 Retreat for Grades 7 and 8
March 5
March 7
March 10 Lenten Liturgy
March 12
March 13 PB & J for Middle School Service (Communty Time) |